[Neonatal laryngeal paralysis. Course and treatment. 56 cases (author's transl)].

56 laryngeal paralyses were seen in newborn infants between 1970 and 1976 (25 bilateral, 31 unilateral). The aetiology was obstetric trauma in 11 cases, nuclear agenesis in 7 cases, a severe neurological disorder (spina bifida, hydrocephaly, microcephaly, lesions of the central nervous system) in 13 cases, and congenital heart disease in 3 cases. In 10 cases, the paralysis was present in isolation. The initial state was not recorded in 11 cases. The course varied according to the aetiology: 5 deaths, 4 due to the severity of neurological problems. Regression, which invariably occured before the end of the 6th month, was seen in all the cases with an obstetric aetiology and in 50% of those in which the paralysis was present in isolation. There was persistence in the majority of neurological, nuclear or central causes. However, subsequent tolerance of persistent forms was good in all those patients followed-up on a regular basis, apart from 5 who underwent surgery. Treatment consisted of intubation for forms poorly tolerated initially, for the first few weeks. Tracheotomy did not prove necessary in any case. 5 patients underwent surgery: arytenoidectomy or arytenoidopexy via an extralaryngeal approach.